What Went Wrong: Great Depression
The view from the ground: Seeds of recovery
Sept. 17, 2012
Hundreds of letters poured into the offices of The Philadelphia Inquirer in response to the gripping story of economic woes told in the original America: What Went Wrong? series by Donald Barlett and James Steele 20 years ago. While letters today are submitted electronically and conversations are often are on cell phones, the feeling of economic despair sounds eerily familiar. Bill Cotter's letter is one in an occasional series about people who submitted their story to us over the many months that we have worked on our current project, What Went Wrong: The Betrayal of the American Dream. The series led to Barlett and Steele's new, best-selling book, "The Betrayal of the America Dream," released in August.
Now & then: Is the Great Recession so different from the Great Depression?
Dec. 24, 2011
Some call this moment the Great Recession. As the hardship has lingered, others have begun calling it the Little Depression. But equating the hard times of the 1930s with the hard times of today is mostly overblown rhetoric. Or is it?
Profiles: Luanne Durst
Dec. 24, 2011
Luanne Durst was born in 1931, and spent the Depression in Rice Lake, Wis. "My father had to work so hard, and my mother tried to save so much. But I keep thinking it’s the same for families now, so uncertain."
Profiles: Martha Rutherford
Dec. 24, 2011
Martha Rutherford, born in 1935, spent the Depression in Portland, Ore. Her family grew much of their own food, and "everything was canned or dried, preserved in some way, salted," she remembers.
Profiles: Saul Coplan
Dec. 24, 2011
Saul Coplan was born in 1932, and grew up in Philadelphia. At the penny-candy counter, he remembers, the store owner was desperate to hustle kids out, but "he couldn’t do that, because he was afraid he was going to lose business. Believe me, every penny counted."
Profiles: Neita Dudman
Dec. 24, 2011
Neita Dudman, born in 1927, lived in Texas during the Depression. "They put plant flour sacks in nice prints, and mothers would save those flour sacks and make dresses," she says.
Profiles: Charles MacArthur
Dec. 24, 2011
Charles MacArthur, born in 1928, lived in Western New York state during the Depression. "Four times in a year was the most we ever could afford to go to the movies," he remembers. "And it cost 12 and 15 cents for admission, so money was terribly tight."
Profiles: Joseph Jackson
Dec. 24, 2011
Joseph Jackson, born 1924, grew up in Detroit. "They took my Christmas savings when the bank crashed. The bank closed and when I went to pick it up they were closed," he says. "I had to be 5 or 6."
Profiles: George and Marge Franz
Dec. 24, 2011
George and Marge Franz, now married, both grew up in Chicago during the Depression. "My older brother, five years older, couldn’t find a job at 16. He got a job at Westinghouse and was there for 44 years," George says.
Profiles: Paul Ingram
Dec. 24, 2011
Paul Ingram, born in 1933, grew up in Detroit. "Jobs were difficult to get except Detroit was a little unique because you had the automobile industry," he says. "The African-Americans would end up working in the foundry, the dangerous jobs."
Profiles: Frank Luke
Dec. 24, 2011
Frank Luke, born in 1935, grew up in Honolulu. "My mother told that there was a 10-year period of recovery, and I think that they’re talking about it like that now," he says.
Profiles: Phyllis Lenhard
Dec. 24, 2011
Phyllis Lenhard, born in 1919, grew up in Dearborn, Mich. "Many times you’d find people out on the street, and they were begging for food. They were sitting there, and many of them were even veterans from the other war," she remembers.
Profiles: Queen Moore
Dec. 24, 2011
Queen Moore was born in 1920 and grew up in Brookneal, Va. "What you didn’t have, you had to do without and make ends meet the best way you can. I learned a whole lot by not having anything," she says.
Profiles: Amelia Jackson
Dec. 24, 2011
Amelia Jackson, born 1927, grew up in Florida and South Carolina. "We didn’t have to worry about food or anything because everybody down South was neighborly like and everybody shared," she recalls.
Quiz: Then or now?
Dec. 24, 2011
News stories today bear an uncanny resemblance to some that ran during the Great Depression. Take our quiz, and see if you can tell which is which.
Profiles: Margaret and Richard Deitrich
Dec. 18, 2011
Margaret and Richard Deitrich, now married, both grew up in Colorado's San Luis Valley during the Depression. "Nobody had much money. I didn’t really realize how poor we were. It was just the way everybody was," Margaret recalls.
